I hope everyone stayed safe and had minimal damage in the wake of Hurricane Sandy earlier this week. We were extremely fortunate, but have been thinking about those who were not. In spite of the frightening winds, we only lost power for about 6 hours on Tuesday. We made light of the situation as much as possible by setting up a “camp site” in our living room with a tent and sleeping bags. My toddler thought it was the coolest thing ever, but even our (rare) flash of creative genius got boring after awhile, and we started counting down the minutes until the childcare section of our gym re-opened.

Finding ourselves at the gym on a random Tuesday at 4 in the afternoon for the first (and probably last) time, I knew I didn’t have the willpower to go freestyle on the machines, so I looked up the class schedule. I landed on a new class called Flow Fusion, which turned out to be fast-paced yoga choreographed to music such as Beyonce, Gotye, and Alicia Keyes. The official description is that it’s a fusion of Tai Chi, Pilates and yoga–but I only noticed the yoga and Pilates inspiration. The teacher also informed us that she’s certified to teach Les Mills’ BodyFlow and that’s what her class essentially was, but because our gym isn’t certified to have it, they’re temporarily trying out this similar format under the name Flow Fusion.

I was one of the first people to enter the studio so I took the opportunity to let the teacher know I was a newbie (I highly recommend doing this whenever starting a new class–the teacher will let you know what equipment you need, what to expect, and will be more likely to adjust your technique throughout class, if needed, which will help prevent injury.) Shortly after I got situated about 10 other women trickled through the door, all familiar faces from my yoga classes, and all saying they were new to the class. Guess we all had the same idea: usual yoga classes were cancelled that morning, at the gym on a random Tuesday, Flow Fusion is the closest I’m getting to yoga.

Overall the class was refreshing, but I left feeling Flow Fusion (and, if the teacher was truly taking advantage of her certification, BodyFlow) is the anti-yoga yoga–it basically bastardized everything that makes yoga such a unique marriage of mind, body, and spirit. I also have to wonder how safe it is to be flying through planks, downward dogs, and half-moons as quickly as we did. I believe yoga is as effective as it is in that each pose and each transition is mindful–not so much when you’re mentally singing along, “now you’re just somebody that I used to know…” However, I was sore the next day–in a good way–so it was certainly a beneficial workout. I had kinks that needed to be worked out in my regular yoga class the following day, particularly in my hip flexors, which I blame on the speedy transitions. Ultimately, Flow Fusion is a great pairing for someone who finds yoga too slow and/or boring but if I ever find myself at the gym on a random Tuesday afternoon again I will likely skip it. I would rather take a traditional Pilates class instead.

I think it’s good to keep trying new things. I love staying apprised of the latest fitness trends while mixing things up in my routine. I have yet to try a new fitness class that I hate, but often times I find trying new classes helps remind me why I’m so content with my current routine of yoga, running, and Zumba.

What’s the last new class you tried? Did you add it to your weekly workout?

5 Comments

Holly

I stick to my regular classes, yoga and power lift. Mostly because the town I live in is so far behind the world and doesn’t offer anything better, lol! But they work great for what I want to do at the gym!

Glad to hear you and your family are safe. Such a scary storm. I live in Alabama, we get hurricanes a lot, they can cause a lot of devastation. I hope and pray for all affected by Sandy, that they have a speedy recovery.